But TV viewership has dropped over 50% ... and that's not a sustainable model anymore.

Luckily, like a true "Shark" he realized something that many people don't...

You have to be committed to your goals, not the tools you use to accomplish that goal.

I shot a video with Kevin where we talk about that ... and more. Check it out

If you have been doing the same thing for 18 months (or longer), chances are the practical realities of time, technology, and a changing competitive landscape implies that you should be doing something different (or at least differently).

When I think about World Leaders (in places like North Korea, Russia, or Syria), I recognize how lucky we are to be able to elect our leaders in fair and free elections.

Unfortunately, that's not an opportunity that we take advantage nearly enough.

America has a two-party system, and we count our votes down district and state lines to decide which candidate will end up with the electoral votes for that state ... but what if abstention was counted as a vote for nobody?

April 22, 2018

What does it take to transform a vivid vision to a revolutionary reality?

Disney calls it 'Imagineering'.

What follows is a simplified version of the process Walt Disney Imagineering uses when it designs and builds theme park attractions, resorts, and other venues.

There are seven pieces or stages in the process. Five stages form the core of the process, while the other two serve as its Prologue and Epilogue.

Prologue: Needs, Requirements, and Constraints: Before the process actually begins, you must identify the project’s specific Needs, Requirements, and Constraints. These form the core parameters of your project.

The goal of the Prologue is to define your overall objective, including what you can do, can’t do, and must do when developing and building your project.

Blue Sky: The initial stage of any Imagineering project is the Blue Sky stage, where initial ideas and concepts are created through a combination of brainstorming and concept design.

The goal of the Blue Sky stage is to create a vision with enough detail to be able to explain, present, and sell it to others.

Concept Development: Once a concept born from the Blue Sky stage has been selected for development, it undergoes a period of concept development where the idea is more fully fleshed out and realized.

The goal of the Concept Development stage is to develop and flesh-out your vision with enough additional detail to explain what needs to be designed and built.

Design: The Design stage is where detailed design documents and specifications are created that will guide the physical construction of the project. These can include architectural documents (blue prints, plans, elevations, etc.) but also more Imagineering-specific documents such as Show Information Guides (documents that outline the story behind the attraction).

The goal of the Design stage is develop the plans and documents that describe and explain how your vision will be brought to life.

Construction: The last major stage of the process involves the actual physical construction of the project, including land development and fabrication.

The goal of the Construction stage is to build the actual project, based on the design developed in the previous stages.

Models: At each main stage in the process, the Imagineers build models of various sizes and scales to help identify and solve potential design challenges.

The goal of creating models and prototypes is test and validate your design at each stage to help solve and/or prevent problems that may arise during the design and construction process.

Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards: Once construction is complete, the attraction is opened for Guests (including Cast Member previews, Soft Openings, and finally a Grand Opening). In addition, once in operation, the attraction is periodically evaluated to ensure that it maintains a level of quality and that the original Creative Intent of the attraction is intact.

The goal of the Epilogue is to present your project to your audience, allow them to experience it, and evaluate its success and effectiveness over time.

Our physical and virtual realities are beginning to blend. Animation is becoming more realistic. Virtual and augmented reality are becoming more affordable. Wearables are becoming pervasive. And, the internet of things will soon overtake the Internet.

We're moving towards a world where technology envelops every aspect of our lives ... figuratively and literally.

The following (still fictional) video is thought-provoking. What happens when these new technologies are used to influence behavior, decision-making, and even your identity?

"Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues."

Your doctor or nutritionist could help you make better choices for you. Your therapist or coach could help you perceive and respond differently to the challenges life presents you. Marketers could better influence your purchases. Employers could better monitor and measure your performance and productivity. And governments will not be far behind ... doing what they do.

Like many things, these technologies make possible awesome new capabilities (if used well) and horrific consequences (if abused or used in authoritarian ways).

Technology can be scary - especially when it is used to move towards autonomous killing machines.

Recently, a UC Berkeley computer science professor helped to create a video that imagined a world where nuclear weapons were replaced by swarms of autonomous tiny drones that could kill half a city and are virtually unstoppable.

Stuart Russell, the professor, said these drones are already a technological reality.

The video takes the viewer to an auditorium where a speaker showcases a drone roughly the size of a mockingbird. At one point the drone lands on his hand, the speaker quickly recalibrates it and then throws it out into the audience again. After a few seconds, the small drone turns back to the stage and crashes into the forehead of a dummy standing off to the left of the speaker.

“Trained as a team, [the drones] can penetrate buildings, cars, trains, all while having the capacity to evade any countermeasure. They cannot be stopped,” the speaker told the audience in the video.

Russell said that although A.I.’s “potential to benefit humanity is enormous, even in defense,” allowing the widespread use of machines that “choose to kill humans will be devastating to our security and freedom.”

Expect to hear a lot more about Swarm Intelligence (and some of the more positive things it can do).

Click here to see it. It answers questions like "What kind of things? and "how will the things be used?" but also gives you a chance to look at the innovations, the innovators, and the challenges involved.

As well, there are privacy issues, bandwidth issues and the unfortunate reality for many companies which is ... you may not be nimble enough to keep up with this innovation landscape.

What do you think about IoT? Do you have a connected home already? Can you start your car with your phone? Does your hedge fund use technology like this to let trading systems communicate, coordinate, and collaborate? Can you imagine what that would be like?